Return to Terabithia
by giverofgrace
Summary: MayBelle and Jess have been ruling a peaceful kingdom until they hear of the darkmaster's rise and his prisoner. Jess wants to save this prisoner, but may loose his life to do so. What will he choose?
1. Prologue

Prologue:

"Jess? Let's go to Terabithia! Homework and chores can wait!" MayBelle exclaimed, thoroughly excited, as the two stepped off the bus and onto the dirt lane.

"Ok, but we can't stay too late today. I want to visit Leslie's grave before dinner," Jess responded to his younger sister.

"Yay! I'll race you to the bridge!" With that, MayBelle took off running down the road.

Jess, of course, beat MayBelle there, but waited for her before crossing, as was their custom. It was a full year to the day after Leslie had died, and the kingdom was flourishing. There had been no new from the Darkmaster since the day Leslie died, and Terabithia became more beautiful every day. Everyone loved their two rulers, King Jess and Princess MayBelle.

The two rulers walked hand in hand down the streets towards the castle. They stopped and helped peasants and gave kind words and smiles to everyone.

When they reached the castle, they were confronted by Adam, the person who looked after thing s while Jess and MayBelle were at school. Jess felt a pang of sadness when he looked around the grand hall as he thought of Leslie and her memorial. The tree-house that had been theirs when they first discovered Terabithia had been turned into a memorial for her.

Adam broke him out of his thoughts by saying, "King Jess, Princess MayBelle. I am sorry to report, but we have received word from one of our informers who has been checking out around the Darkmaster's fortress and word has it that he will be making a stand against the kingdom of Terabithia, and more importantly, you. Extra security measures are being put in place around the kingdom, but we fear it will not be enough."

"The Darkmaster will be making a stand?" MayBelle asked, slightly terrified.

"Yes. Rumor has it also that within his dungeons he holds a prisoner. And this prisoner is the only thing that has been keeping the Darkmaster in check for the past year. But, this prisoner is growing weak, and will not be able to hold back the Darkmaster for much longer. He is slowly killing the prisoner. We must prepare for war." Adam responded.

Jess sighed. "Very well. Do as you see fit. I will not let the Darkmaster rule Terabithia again as he once did. Even if it kills me, I will protect this kingdom."


	2. Trouble is Brewing

Chapter 1: Trouble is Brewing

"Maybelle. I'm going to go visit Leslie's grave. Go home and tell mom that I'll be home by 6," Jess called out to his sister as they crossed the bridge out of Terabithia.

"Ok. I'll see you in a little bit," Maybelle responded before taking off down the dirt road.

Jess walked by himself through the woods and the meadow until he reached the town's cemetery. He slowly wandered down the familiar path and sat down on Leslie's grave. After sitting a few minutes in silence, he lay down next to her grave and pretended as though she was right there and could hear him. He proceeded to stare up into the sky and tell her about his day and everything that had been happening in school. He told her about how Janice was really nice to him and how she had even punched a boy in the nose who had been bullying a 3rd grader.

After he had run out of things to talk about that was school-related, he started talking about Terabithia and how the kingdom was flourishing. He told how she would never be forgotten, and how the Darkmaster was making a rise.

He told her all about the mysterious prisoner who seemed to have control over whether Terabithia conquered or fell to the Darkmaster, and how if this prisoner gave up on life, the Terabithians would have to fight one of the hardest battles ever fought.

Once he had told her everything he could think of and had been lying there for a while in silence, checked his watch…

And got up to race back to his house. When he finally made it through the front door, it was 6:02.

"Where have you been, Jess?" his mother questioned. "We've been waiting for you!"

"Sorry. Didn't Maybelle tell you I'd be home at 6?" Jess asked.

"Yes, and that was 2 minutes ago! We were starting to get worried! Never mind. Dinner is on the table. You can have a word with your father about this later."

"Sorry. I was visiting Leslie's grave and lost track of time. I'll be more careful about the time next time," Jess responded with his head down.

Maybelle was looking at him as if he were crazy for allowing himself to earn a lecture from their father for being late by _**2**_ minutes. She tried to catch his eye to ask what was wrong but he wouldn't look up from the table.

She tried to catch him after dinner was over, but when she asked her mom where he'd went, her mom told her that Jess had already gone to the barn with his father and that she was not to disturb them.

Maybelle knew trouble was brewing. Adam's report of the Darkmaster rising was just the beginning of it. She just didn't know how right she was. If she had known, she would've been scared out of her mind by the events that were to come.


	3. Signs that Foreshadow a Dark Future

Chapter 2: Signs that Foreshadow a Dark Future

Maybelle stayed up really late that night, waiting for Jess to come inside so she could ask him what was with his behavior the night before. She fell asleep with her light still on around 11 PM. Jess had yet to come back inside.

"Sweetie, wake up!" a voice whispered in her ear.

When Maybelle opened her eyes, her mother was standing there, urging her to get up and get dressed.

Maybelle was about to complain, when she happened to look over at Jess's bed.

She sat bolt upright and was immediately fully awake.

"Mom? Where's Jess?" she asked.

"He must've gotten up really early and left for a jog or something. You know how much he likes running. I think he might've said something last week about having another race today. Maybe he's just warming up," her mother replied.

"Yea, but you still haven't gotten him any new shoes, so he wouldn't risk something happening to these," Maybelle refuted.

Her mother just turned around and walked out of the room with an "I don't know, then. Figure it out for yourself".

Maybelle continued with her morning chores and activities, all the while wondering where the heck Jess was.

It wasn't until she reached the bus stop that she finally found Jess. He had large bags under his eyes, and his clothes were disheveled.

"What happened to you? You look terrible! Here, let me get the sticks and leaves out of your hair. What did you do, sleep out in the woods?" Maybelle asked jokingly as she pulled the leaves out of her brother's hair, but her grin faded when she saw that he was nodding.

"WHAT? Why the heck did you sleep outside?"

"Umm…well, I didn't really want to go into the castle, so I found a small clearing in the woods and fell asleep," Jess answered her.

"Why didn't you just come inside and do the smart thing?"

"Umm…well, dad wouldn't let me in the house. He said I had to learn a lesson."

"FOR BEING TWO MINUTES LATE?" Maybelle practically yelled.

"Not only that. There were some other things as well," Jess replied hesitantly.

"You're not going to tell me, are you? Well, it doesn't matter. Just, next time, tell sneak in through our window. It's not like dad ACTUALLY meant that you couldn't sleep inside. Why would he do that to his own flesh and blood?"

The question was rhetorical, but Jess answered anyways.

"He wouldn't. But I'm not his flesh and blood. Mom kinda had an affair with some guy she met in a restaurant that she went to right after she had a huge fight with dad and they were thinking about divorcement. So I'm technically your half-brother, not your full brother."

Maybelle was about to comment on this when the bus pulled up. She ran after him, and seeing how the back of his shirt was dirty, she attempted at wiping it off for him.

She was startled when he reacted to her touch and jerked away, a flash of pain flickering across his face.

Maybelle knew not to question Jess, but something was seriously wrong here.

'It's strange,' she reflected. 'With all of the bad stuff going on in Terabithia, I would've thought that things would at least be going right here in our world. I mean, I do need somewhere peaceful to turn to. Well, at least life isn't too bad here yet. Maybe I'll wait for a few days to pass and then question Jess on this strange behavior.'

If she had known that she might not ever get that chance, Maybelle would've sorted everything out right then and there. But as it is, neither she nor Jess could predict what the next few days had in store for them.


End file.
